Posted: 31st Jul, 2003 By: MarkJ
It's reported that the government is planning to setup nine agencies across the UK to drive the public-sector broadband demand. It's hoped that the move will bring the golden goal of 90% coverage one step closer:
E-commerce minister Stephen Timms has told ZDNet UK that the creation of the Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs), announced on Thursday, is a "very significant development" in the creation of Broadband Britain.
Each RAB will assess how much demand for broadband there is from the public sector in its area. This demand will be bundled together, and telecoms operators will be invited to pitch for the contract to satisfy this demand. Initially, just schools and hospitals will be included, but the government hopes that a wider range of public sector institutions will eventually be involved.
According to the government, once public sector buildings have been upgraded to broadband, it will be cheaper for telcos to offer high-speed connectivity to nearby residents. "The key benefit for lots of places where broadband isn't available today is that there will now be enough [public sector] demand for service operators to justify investing in broadband infrastructure," Timms told ZDNet UK. "Once the infrastructure is there, anyone can benefit."This could have been done long ago, although any positive move is still a welcome one. More @
ZDNet.